Magic is a Gift
by Zanycat
Summary: All magic is a gift - even Necromancy. Not everyone realizes it, though. ((R&R for more chapters.))


My first memory wasn't of my parents, nor did it seem to even be important.

It was, though, when I realized what I wanted to do with my life.

I had been tucked into bed by my mother. "I'm not tired, mom," I remember myself saying. "Tell me a story?" My mom looked at me strangely, as if considering if I was old enough for the story she was going to tell. "About four years ago, there was an evil dragon named Zhaitan. Zhaitan had the power to raise people from the dead. These Risen weren't exactly human; they were servants of Zhaitan, the dragon's vessels." She paused, and then continued, "The dragon's influence plagued the land, causing tensions to grow between races and wars to break out. Plants wilted and waters dried up."

"Then came two Sylvari. Sylvari are half-plant, half-human beings born of a tree with a simple, defined life goal. These two Sylvari had goals of killing the dragon. And they did so, saving the world from the dragon's corruption."

I was half asleep after that story, but through the haze of sleep I asked if there were any more dragons. My mom's expression was enough for me to tell, but she still nodded. "Its name is Jormag, and it lives in the frigid temperatures in the north."

Right then and there my life was clear to me: slay the other dragon, Jormag.

* * *

"Come on, Erin! We get to take the combat test today!" I said, grabbing Erin's wrist and pulling her along with me. "Okay, okay, calm down!" Erin said, running to the school building alongside me. We ran into the school's open doors, finally slowing down. All the students in our grade could fit into two classrooms, and luckily Erin and I were in the same classroom together. We walked in to our assigned room together, and the first thing I noticed writing on the chalkboard was instructions on where to sit for our test. I glanced at Erin one last time before sitting down in my assigned seat.

The teacher walked in, looking around to make sure we were all here. When she was satisfied that everyone was where they were supposed to be, she spoke. "Hello, students. Today you take a test to determine if you are going to be trained for our army or not. There are 9 results possible from this test: Not Army Ready, Warrior, Guardian, Ranger, Engineer, Thief, Elementalist, Mesmer, and Necromancer." The teacher's voice seemed to falter over the word Necromancer. "You have all the time you need to finish. There should be no talking during this test, or you will immediately be placed in Not Army Ready."

She started to walk around and hand everyone a test. When I got my test, I immediately flipped it open, noticing that all of the questions were multiple choice. Some of the questions on my test were as simple as "Where were you raised?", but others seemed to have no point. One of those weird questions was "If you could have anything, which of these would you want the most?"

When we finished, they let us go home. I finished my test before Erin, so I waited for her to finish. As I waited outside the classroom door, I thought about what I wanted my combat test to tell me. I thought that I'd probably get Thief as my style, due to my ability to use information given to me and how I was cunning. I definitely didn't want Mesmer, since they were so two-faced with how they could change how they looked. My thoughts were interrupted as Erin came out of the classroom, wearing a look of satisfaction. "I know I'm going to get one of the cool styles, like Warrior or Ranger!" She exclaimed to me. "What do you think you'll get?" I thought about my reply, and answered, "I just want something that feels right." She grinned, and then her face took on an expression of disgust. "What if that happens to be Necromancer?" Erin paused, looking around. Lowering her voice, she added, "I heard that most of the Necromancers end up turning on their family and killing them, just to resuscitate them to use them for their bidding. Isn't that terrible?" I stared at her, suddenly scared that I'd get the Necromancer result.

* * *

I woke up with the sunlight streaming through my window. My dad had already left for his job in the city, and my mom was probably outside, watering our strawberry seedlings. I pulled back the covers on my bed and quickly changed into my clothes for school, a ball of nerves. What style would I get, if I even got one at all? Only 40% of people that took the test got a result that actually involved fighting. I quickly tugged a brush through my hair, sprinting out of the house.

I slowed down as I arrived at the school. Everything around the school seemed normal, unless you looked at the students. We were all showing signs of being nervous, hoping that we'd get good results. The signs posted in the hallways directed us to our classrooms, where our results would be given to us at the end of school.

Sitting through classes was terrible, especially with our teachers threatening to keep our results until tomorrow if we didn't stop talking. Thankfully, though, nobody got in enough trouble for them to actually keep our results from us.

It was now the end of the last class of the day, and the teacher had just told us he was going to pass out our results. I drummed my fingers on the desk, my body tense. When the teacher finally got to my desk to give me my results, I stopped my fingers from drumming and nearly ripped the letter I tried to take it from him so fast. I had to stop myself from ripping the envelope to shreds because it said to open only after school.

The bell rang and I sprinted as fast as a spooked cat to Erin. "Let's go outside and open them there." I said, waving my unopened results in front of Erin's face. "Alright," She responded simply, and I could see her nervous energy. We walked quickly out of the school building, stopping under a leafy oak tree. "On three?" Erin asked, and I nodded. "One," I said, fingering the flap of the envelope. "Two," Erin breathed, her eyes on her results. "Three!" I said, the number rushing out as I tore open the envelope. In big font, it read: Congratulations! Your results have proven that you have potential to be a Necromancer!

"Sweet! I got Ranger!" Erin exclaimed, glancing over at me. When she noticed my sunken expression, though, she stopped her tiny celebration. "What's wrong? Did you get Not Army Ready?" She asked, pulling me into a hug. "It's okay, only 40% of people get army results anyways." I shook my head, drawing back from her hug. "No," I whispered. "I got Necromancer."

Erin stared at me, wide-eyed. "That's not a funny joke, Helen." She chided, oblivious to the fact that I was speaking the truth. "It's not a joke," I mumbled. "I really got Necromancer." She gasped quietly, then screamed, "Stay away from me!" She stumbled as she shoved past me, fleeing to her house. I sank to my knees, closing in on myself. Why would she be so quick to distrust me?

* * *

I arrived at the farmhouse an hour later, my terrible results in hand. "Welcome home, honey," My mom greeted from where she was, cutting carrots as I walked in. "What's wrong?" She asked after seeing my expression. "I got Necromancer as my results." I muttered. "What? You got Necromancer?" My mom exclaimed with a hint of fear in her voice. She stopped cutting to look at me to make sure I wasn't joking. "Get out. I need to talk to your father." She said, shakily pointing towards the door. "What? But there's criminals out there!" I cried, shaking my head. "You're a Necromancer so you might as well already be a criminal!" She argued back, walking towards me and shoving me out the door.

I wandered around the streets, quietly suffering. I was alone and hungry, and the sun had set long ago. I was starting to shiver underneath my flimsy schoolclothes. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to conserve my warmth. After a few more minutes of pointlessly wandering around, I heard a cry in the darkness. I turned toward the source, dropping down onto my hands and knees and listening hard for more sounds. When I decided that it was safe enough to continue, I crept forward, only to be knocked backwards by the earth shifting. Rising out of the dirt in front of me was a mangled human body.

I scrambled up, taking quick steps backward. The body was alive, yet it seemed to have signs of rotting. Its eyes were simply empty sockets, and it walked with a limp in its leg due to what looked like an untreated gunshot wound. It reached one of its moldy hands towards me, reaching for my neck. I threw my arms out at it, trying to stop it before it got too close. A strange, green glow emitted from my hands and something that looked like green fire in the shape of a tennis ball shot out of my hands at the monster. On impact, the monster crumpled to the ground, giving one last groan before laying still.

"Good job. Not everyone is able to face a Risen and live." A female voice said behind me, with a slight accent. I turned around to see a green plant-human thing…A Sylvari! It had light green leaves instead of hair, and her clothes were made of large leaves. "You're a Sylvari," I breathed, awe leaking into my voice. "I am. My name is Caithe. What is a common farm girl like you doing out here this late?" Caithe asked, looking up at the moon. "Well, my mom wasn't happy with some news I gave her, and she told me to leave the house. I don't think she wants me back anytime soon." Caithe considered what I had said for a moment silently, before asking, "Well, would you like to come with me? I know people that can help you with Necromancy." I looked over at her to see if she was serious. She was. "Would I be judged? For Necromancy, I mean." I questioned after a moment. I didn't want to end up like I was now if I went with her. "Of course not. Magic, in any form, is considered a gift among Sylvari." She answered without hesitation. I looked at the city around us, thinking about her offer. If I went, it meant I would never see my parents again. It would also mean a new life, one outside of the little bubble I lived here, among humans.

"I'll go." I announced with finality. I was ready for this change in my life.


End file.
